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Professor Awarded Data Science Fellowship

As a new Junior Faculty Fellow at BU’s Hariri Institute for Computing, Huimin Cheng, assistant professor of biostatistics, aims to drive innovation in advanced statistical modeling, machine learning, and network science to address complex challenges in healthcare and biomedical science.

Huimin Cheng, assistant professor of biostatistics, has been named a 2024 Junior Faculty Fellow at the Boston University Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering.

The fellowship recognizes early-career researchers who are harnessing computational methods and tools to drive innovative research and address complex challenges spanning a range of fields, including public health, astronomy, economics, neuroscience, and engineering. The Hariri Institute supports fellows’ work and their continued development by connecting them with one another, as well as other experts in computational and data sciences. The Junior Faculty Fellowship is a three-year appointment and includes a $10,000 award to further the recipient’s research.

Cheng joined the School of Public Health in 2023 after receiving her PhD in statistics from the University of Georgia. Her highly interdisciplinary research integrates advanced statistical modeling, machine learning, and network science. She has also developed various statistical methods, including network cross-validation, network sampling, network ANOVA, and graphon convolutional network.

Collaborating closely with a variety of colleagues from biophysicists and engineers to political scientists and sociologists, Cheng aims to tackle some of the most pressing problems in biomedical sciences and healthcare. Her recent research portfolio includes an analysis of transnational advocacy networks and their effects on social power and global inequality; an investigation into the detection and localization of anomalies in smart grids; the development of methods to promote data analytics in gastric cancer, obstructive sleep apnea, and coronary heart disease; analyses of transportation networks to promote smart cities; and studies in nanotechnology.

“Receiving the Hariri Institute Junior Faculty Fellowship is a tremendous honor and opportunity that will undoubtedly catalyze my research at the forefront of data science and network analysis,” says Cheng. “It represents not only a recognition of my past work but also an opportunity to elevate my research to new heights. This fellowship will provide me with the resources and collaborative environment necessary to further explore and develop innovative computational methods that can address complex challenges in data science and network analysis.”

The Hariri Institute is, in the words of its director Yannis Paschalidis, a “convergence accelerator,” initiating interdisciplinary research to advance social impact initiatives at the intersection of computational and data sciences and collaborating with students, staff, and faculty from across BU, as well as with industrial partners from both the private and public sectors, to transform research into real-world solutions.

Several other SPH faculty members have served as Junior Faculty Fellows, including Jonathan Jay, assistant professor of community health sciences; Shariq Mohammed, assistant professor of biostatistics; Elaine Nsoesie, assistant professor of global health; and Prasad Patil, assistant professor of biostatistics. Additionally, Andrew Stokes, associate professor of global health, has a research project currently supported by funding from the Institute.